allanmac00

Recipes 

I've read that that witbiers should be consumed as young as possible. Is this true. I have a witbier in primary right now. I'm thinking 3 weeks primary, 3 weeks bottle. Sound about right?

llazy_llama

Recipes 

Sounds good to me.

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Coastarine

Recipes 

That's what they say, that it is best fresh, but I can tell you that I opened a bottle of witbier from my archive the other day, in the bottle for 6 months, and I didn't notice anything worse about it.

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SEMPER FIDELIS ET SEMPER PARATUS Bringin' the 'pane...the propane.Coming Up:..[Hefewiezen][BCS Robust Porter][EdWort's Haus Pale Ale][Peated Ale]
Fermenting:.
Conditioning:[Oaked Cider][ESB]
On Tap.........[The Munchner][Spiced Cider][English Cider][Simcoe IPA][Triple Hops Grooved][Cider'n 'gnac]

ArcaneXor

Recipes 

Witbier doesn't age all that well, but it'll still be fine after a few months and possibly longer.
But I enjoy mine best within a month of brewday - the "greenness" actually adds to the refreshing explosion of interesting flavors that subsides a little after they have had a chance to mellow.

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The Fiesty(sic) Goat Brewery est. 2007 & Clusterfuggle Experimental Ales est. 2009
Planned: Fat Man Porter, sLambic II, Brettennial Falcon IPA, Flanders Red, Orange Blossom Mead
Primary: Winexpert Riesling Ice Wine, sLambic I
Secondary: Flanders Red
Kegged:Black or Blue EyePA, Cherrywood-aged Crystal Stout,
2013 dump volume: ~2 gallons

allanmac00

Recipes 

So, 2 weeks primary, 2 weeks bottle? Or 1 week primary, 3 weeks bottle?

llazy_llama

Recipes 

How about 3-4 weeks primary, 3 weeks bottle?

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ArcaneXor

Recipes 

For my Wits, I do about 2 weeks primary at 68 degrees, followed by 1.5-2 weeks in the bottle at 75 degrees to an estimated 2.8 Volumes of CO2, but I let hydro/refract readings, visual examination and taste determine the exact schedule I'll follow for any given batch. YMMV on how long the carbonation will take - 2-3 weeks at 70 is a good average, but I found that my wits tend to be a bit on the quicker side. I always like them best just after they have reached max carbonation, but they remain excellent beers for a couple of weeks before the flavors start to mellow and smooth out the "edge" that I enjoy in a wit.

I wouldn't do this kind of aggressive schedule for anything but a light wheat beer. My barley ales take at least six weeks from brewday to be ready to drink, and often a good bit longer than that.

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The Fiesty(sic) Goat Brewery est. 2007 & Clusterfuggle Experimental Ales est. 2009
Planned: Fat Man Porter, sLambic II, Brettennial Falcon IPA, Flanders Red, Orange Blossom Mead
Primary: Winexpert Riesling Ice Wine, sLambic I
Secondary: Flanders Red
Kegged:Black or Blue EyePA, Cherrywood-aged Crystal Stout,
2013 dump volume: ~2 gallons